With the start of 2015 we have taken a number of small steps towards Stoneham Bakehouse establishing itself as a community supported bakery in the Poets’ Corner area of Hove. Read on to find out more.
The very kind people at Pizzaface continue to lend us their oven every other Saturday morning, allowing us to produce a batch of bread to sell to the local community. We’ve started selling the bread at the fabulous community café, The Hive, between 12 and 1pm on alternate Saturdays. As we are conscious not to create unnecessary food waste, we’ll be baking to order, with bread being picked up and paid for at the Hive Cafe in Stoneham Park. If you’re interested in buying bread from us then we’ll have an order form in the Hive, or you can email orders to us on orders@stonehambakehouse.org.uk. We’ll be baking pain de campagne (sourdough), seeded malthouse and light rye loaves every time, with the occasional special loaf supplementing our offer. The first bake in February will be on the 7th February, with bakes being fortnightly from that point.
Starting at the beginning of this month, Stoneham Bakehouse has begun an exciting project with Hove Junior School to use baking to support children and staff’s wellbeing. The Play Dough project will work with targeted groups of children from both the Portland Road and Holland Road sites; teaching them baking skills, as well as focussing on the New Economics Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing (connect, give, take notice, be active, and keep learning). So, to give an example, we have been working with different types of dough to help us connect with our senses. The project, funded by a grant from the local Clinical Commissioning Group, will last for the whole of 2015, enabling Stoneham Bakehouse to support many children over the year. We are also looking for funding to allow us to take the Play Dough project to local preschools and nurseries.
2015 looks like being a defining year for Stoneham Bakehouse. We are in the process of incorporating as a Community Interest Company, and we’re continuing to move forward on the plan for a permanent home on Stoneham Road. We’d like to say a big thank you to all who have supported the project so far; whether through buying bread, volunteering to bake, or talking about the project with friends, we really appreciate your help in making the dream of a Poets’ Corner community supported bakery a reality.
